Shiira Kankoku
Appearance Shiira is a mermaid with the appearance of a young woman. She has short, blue hair and a pair of shining blue eyes to match. On land, Shiira stands at 5'7" and she wears a green kimono that is tied up with a purple and gold sash which cuts off at her thighs. She also wears black shoes and long white socks that go all the way up past her thighs so that her legs aren't discovered to actually be a split fish tail. When she is submerged underwater, Shiira's legs come together to form a large, blue-grey tail that brings the length of her body well past 6 feet. She also lets out a pair of fins that normally remain hidden in her hair that help her swim faster. If she were to remove her kimono, one would be able to see that Shiira also has gills on both of her sides that allow her to breathe underwater. Personality Shiira is a has a cheerful personality and tries to be friendly to everyone she meets. She can be rather naive as she does not have much experience in the human world, so it is pretty easy to trick her into thinking something strange is normal or that something is socially correct when it is not. Despite her naivety, she a general distrust of human men as the ones who commited such atrocities to mermaids are generally male in the stories that Shiira's mother used to tell her. Because of these stories, she is very worried that people will find out she is actually a mermaid and will try to kidnap her or kill her. She can be a bit absentminded regarding this though, as she tends to drop hints on occasion that she isn't actually a human or had even grown up around any. Shiira will not willingly tell anyone she is a mermaid unless she grows to trust them. Most of all, Shiira has a powerful desire to explore the world and to be accepted by friends she can count on. In combat, Shiira's personality flips completely and she becomes serious and even a bit cold, badmouthing her opponents and being more forceful with her allies as well. Because of her recent experiences after arriving at the North Blue, Shiira has become a more lonely and depressed, feeling despair at the loss of her two would-be companions. However, she keeps these emotions guarded and locked up inside, still seeming cheerful on surface level. She fears getting too close to people now as she is afraid they will end up leaving her or even dead. Biography For as long as she could remember, Shiira had been a part of a traveling group of merpeople along with her mother. She never knew anything about her father, other than the fact that he'd sacrificed himself to a sea monster so that the rest of this group could escape. This group, known by many under the sea as the Blue Saints, was specifically a traveling band of doctors that visited undersea villages of merpeople and fishmen to provide their services, believing that their kind should help one another out as much as possible due to their general discrimination from the humans above. Along with their medical talents, the Blue Saints also devised their own powerful style of fighting for the purpose of defending themselves against the hostile sea monsters that they would inevitably come across during their travels. Every member of the group was required to learn both medical techniques and this martial arts style and Shiira was no exception, being taught directly by her mother. The basis of this fighting style was to move with the oceans currents and even manipulate them to an extent to allow for smoother, unpredictable movements for the purpose of evasion before going in to strike at the perfect moment. Along with her training, her mother would also tell Shiira stories of the humans the lived above the sea, specifically about the dangers of interacting with them. These stories both frightened and excited Shiira as, although she was afraid of what the humans were capable of doing to her people, she was also very curious about the vast world that existed above their own. Returning to Fishman Island after a long time to restock on supplies and take a short rest, the Blue Saints' services were called upon by the king of the merfolk himself. He had heard of their experience and expertise in treating diseases and summoned them to Ryugu Palace to request their assistance. The princess had come down with a serious illness and none of the royal doctors could ascertain the nature of the disease and therefore could not treat her. Luckily, the traveling troupe had seen this very disease once before many years prior and were able to treat the princess, though her recovery would take several months. During that time, the Blue Saints were given the treatment of royals and lived in the palace, helping with the royal doctors' medical research and traveling down to the rest of the island to treat the common folk. Meanwhile, Shiira visited the princess daily and the young girls quickly became friends. Months passed and by the time the princess made a full recovery from her illness, she and Shiira had become as close as sisters. Before the Blue Saints finally departed for their next journey, the princess proclaimed to Shiira that they would always be friends and that she and her family would always be welcome in the Ryugu Palace. Years after curing the princess, the Blue Saints made a tough decision and did something they didn't normally do - they entered the Calm Belt. Normally, they would avoid this place at all costs as it was both much higher in concentration of dangerous sea creatures and there was also the complete absence of the ocean's current which was essential for them to be able to defend themselves against these monsters. However, they had heard that another group of merfolk had been chased into this zone not long before and needed help. After much consideration, half of the Blue Saints decided to go in after them and Shiira went as well despite her mother's request for her to stay back with the others. For a while, they swam without seeing any danger, feeling uneasy at the lack of current. Eventually, they saw what appeared to be the other group but, as they approached, realized that they were too late - the merfolk had already been half eaten and were spreading blood all around. Suddenly, the Blue Saints felt a powerful current of water rush past them and, as this could only mean one thing, Shiira slowly looked behind her to see an impossibly large sea serpent looking right at her. A moment of complete stillness passed before giving way to complete and utter chaos as more monsters began appearing, surrounding the Blue Saints as they clamored to make it back to the Grand Line. Shiira tried to follow, but was cut off as a row of pointed teeth as large her body clamped down right in front of her, blocking her escape. With nowhere else to go, Shiira turned the other way and began swimming for her life, her body numb with fear but her tail still propelling her forwards as fast as it could. As she swam, Shiira looked back to see that she was being pursued by the sea serpent. Realizing she was about to die, she closed her her eyes as the monster approached. Seconds passed and Shiira's eyes slowly opened to be meeted with the figure of her mother floating between her and the sea king, her arms outstretched to block its advance. Unable to do anything, Shiira only looks for a moment more before facing back forward, feeling the rush of the waves on her back as the monster closed its jaws around her mother as she escaped, both realizing that this must have been much like what her father had done years before and feeling grateful and despair for what had just happened. Afterwards, Shiira swam for 3 days without rest, fearing the monsters that lurked across the Calm Belt, before finally feeling the presence of a current once more. Relieved and exhausted, Shiira slowly made her way to the surface so that she could hopefully figure out where she'd ended up. She knew she had to be in one of the four seas that bordered the Grand Line and, as she broke the surface, Shiira looked up to see the sun shining far above her and ahead, an island that appeared to have some sort of shrine located on it. What was more, there were figures crowded around it - humans who had come to pray at the shrine of Fianna before heading off to the Grand Line. Shiira suddenly felt that sense of excitement welling up in her again, as she realized she had come to the strange world of humans that she had heard from in her mother's stories. Thinking about her mother made her heart hurt again but, shaking her head, Shiira decided not to squander the opportunity her mother had given her at the cost of her own life. With her head held high and a determined expression on her face, Shiira swam towards the island, ready to find her very own adventure in the North Blue. After exploring the North Blue on her own for some time, Shiira eventually met two people who she felt she could trust to keep her secret and shared with them the fact that she is a mermaid. Quickly becoming friends, three young women together decided that they would form a crew together and travel the seas to do as they pleased. However, their adventure was not meant to be as one of Shiira's new companions was assassinated and thrown into the sea. Though Shiira swam all around the island, she was unable to locate the body and returned to shore in despair. Regrouping with her last remaining friend, the two of them fended off the assassin together and got out with their lives. The next day, Shiira awoke to find her friend had gone without a word, leaving her all alone in an unknown sea once more. Shiira's Theme Song Professions Martial Artist: A Martial Artist is someone who specializes in hand-to-hand combat, completely or very close to unarmed. They usually have good insight in the aspects of weight, balance and movement of the body. This character has honed their body and trained extensively in Blue Current Style and can create techniques that in keeping in line with that style of fighting, exceeding rank 7 (seven). Primary Trait: This character can create stances, which are techniques that allow a character to move around stat points and a somewhat different way of fighting. The effects of these stances can change with higher rank, potentially granting supernatural effects with a high enough rank. Doctor: A doctor, gains large medical knowledge. Suturing and cleaning wounds, making bandages out of various materials and preparing drugs, is all part of a Doctor's job. Doctors are the only ones capable of healing serious injuries and knowing how to properly treat various diseases. Doctors can create techniques to counteract illnesses, toxins, and to properly treat wounds. These techniques can exceed rank 7 (seven). Traits Professional Traits Work That Body '(1 Trait): As a Martial Artist, your entire body is a weapon, so in certain cases, it may be better to avoid the hit then taking it. This character gains bonus technique points, equal to 25% of their Will for movement techniques. These techniques are for the express purpose of moving or dodging to try and avoid getting hit. 'General Traits Merfolk(1 Trait): Merfolk are characters who possess humanoid upper torso and fishlike lower torso, similar to common interpretations of mermaids. In place of legs these characters have a tail which splits down the middle while they are standing on land, acting as legs and feet. They possess gills to breathe underwater, and while in the water they are extremely agile, gaining a 15% increase in agility while underwater. Technically Adept(1 Trait): This trait increases a character’s technical score multiplier from 2.5 to 3. Interim of the Strong(1 Trait): A thirst for power has a hard time being quelled, but perhaps a temporary one is enough for the moment. This character is granted a temporary boost in strength, by 3 points. While this character has slotted this trait, they cannot take another trait with ‘Interim’ in the name except for this one. This trait can be slotted multiple times, so long as you have the available slots. Combat Style While submerged in water, Shiira's Blue Current Style uses the ocean's currents and manipulates them to an extent to allow for quick, unpredictable movements that allow her to react to her opponent's attacks and punish them. She generally waits for the opponent to make the first move and responds with powerful strikes from her fists or her tail. On land she fights similarly to how she would underwater, feeling the flow of the fight and responding in turn. Character Stats Items '''Doctor's Bag: '''A brown leather bag that is worn over one's shoulder and contains scissors, a sewing needle, and supplies such as bandages, drugs, and herbs. '''The Screecher: '''A strange Silver envelope that has no address upon it. It is said that if you write a name on it and toss it to the winds, it will eventually deliver your feelings to them in a rather, magical fashion. a Mod when used '''Tonic: '''A tonic acquired from Ruhi's Spook Shop. Contains Cheesecake, Red Velvet Cake, and Birthday Cake flavorings. Techniques Feats None whatsoever Category:Approved